The Story of Nagini
by Aksmurderer
Summary: Voldemort's eerie connection with the magnificent snake Nagini had blossomed when he was just a young boy...
1. Chapter 1: An Unusual Pet

**_*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS, SPELLS ET CETERA.*_**

 **Chapter 1: An Unusual Pet**

Tom Riddle sat quietly in the corner of his bedroom. He watched as all the other Muggle children played outside in the snow, making snowmen, having snowball fights, making snow angels, and other rubbish. Tom never understood why these filthy Muggles even existed. They did not offer and alter anything to world.

Through his fogged up, frosty window, amongst the miles of jet white, he spotted a deep emerald figure, slinking through a lone, frosted bush. He smirked subtly, pressing his pink-tinged cheek against the cold glass, thinking that he may not be the only odd one out this Christmas. Slowly, he curled up into a bundle, and fell asleep, still leaning against the window, a million thoughts racing through his head, like always.

Tom Riddle was a strange, troubled child, most believed. Although his looks were most defined, he had a very mysterious personality. Tom had jet black hair, always very slick and trimmed, pale, almost porcelain skin, an angular, chiseled jaw line, and misty, silver-green eyes that would easily pierce through one, if one was to stare into his eyes too long. Tom wasn't a lanky boy, nor was he muscular; in fact, Tom was what you would call perfect: he enough muscle in all the correct places.

Many say that Tom Riddle had a reason to be such a frightening child. Most Muggles were under the assumption that, well, that his parents abandoned him, and so he was put in the orphanage. Well, the truth is, that is not exactly right. Tom Riddle, a young, striking boy, had quite a dark past. His mother, Merope Gaunt, an elegant witch herself, had used a dangerous love potion to lure and seduce a fine, handsome, Muggle, named Tom Riddle Senior. After Tom's birth, Merope quit the potion in hope that in fact Tom Sr. actually loved her. But alas, Tom Sr. was horrified and abandoned baby Tom and his mother all alone in the orphanage, where he was born. Soon after, Merope died, only living to name her only son. Tom, a vulnerable child, was raised in that orphanage, only to be taken to Hogwarts later on. Without many a memory of his parents, he continued to be that quiet, mysterious, and actually quite spooky kid, who always lurked around silently.

Tom was amoken from his restless sleep by a loud, rough, knock at the door, though it seemed more like a beating down. Tom woke up with a start and walked grudgingly towards his door. Behind the door was none other than the orphanage house keeper. Tom never bothered to remember her name; he never bothered to remember anyone's name. He didn't have any friends, so it wasn't really necessary. Tom stared into the eyes of the old lady, in hope that she would turn and leave him alone. No one liked to bother the boy. Most of the Muggles and magical folk were afraid of him anyhow.

"Er... Tom! How do you do?" The caretaker fiddled nervously with her dirty apron. Tom edged the door closer, so that it was almost shut, until he was stopped. "Er... Tom, my dear, I do not wish to interrupt you, but I just wanted to, er... inform, that's right, inform you that, er, dinner will be served in fifteen minutes. Christmas dinner, that's right." She mumbled and muttered, still fidgeting. Tom stared blankly back.

"I am not hungry." And with that, he shut the door, locked it, and went back to his viewing spot, by the window. By now, all the children were inside, getting warm and toasty for dinner. Tom was just about to shut his ratty curtains, when he spotted something slithering along the crisp, white snow. Again, it was that emerald figure, though now it was easy to make out that it was a snake. It slid with ease across the slippering ice, though Tom couldn't help but notice that it was a bit odd. For one thing, it was huge. The reptile was roughly around twelve feet long, and about as think as a man's thigh. Intrigued, Tom decided to give it a visit, since he had nothing better to do.

Tom grabbed his coat, buckled up his boots, and silently walked down the stairs. There, around twenty other children were eating, laughing, and singing at the table. Tom gagged to himself, thinking that it was much too happy for their own good. Suddenly, when he was in clear sight, the whole chattering stopped abruptly. All that could be heard was the soft jingles of the music, and the whistle of the wind outside. Not a breath was taken, and everyone had there eyes on Tom Riddle. Everyone.

"Hello... Tom," said the caretaker, greeting him once again. Ignoring all this attention, he escorted himself quietly out of the building. As he was leaving, he heard the lady call out to him. "Uh, Tom! Don't be out there too long, you will catch a cold! Uh, now now, children, go back to your business." Tom smirked and continued to trudge along the snow. It was when he reached a dark corner, covered by a willow tree, when he saw the magnificent snake again.

Tom rested himself on a large rock, or a small boulder, and stared at the snake, which, currently, was slithering around him. He took his time to notice the snake's features: bright, green eyes, a scaly, shiny, majestic emerald body, and two large fangs just sticking out of its lower lip. It had strange, curious patterns, all over its body, with a deeper, almost black, shade of green. Tom stared at the creature, mesmerised. To him, this was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Not those stupid bunny rabbits or that bloody peacock the Muggles constantly talked about. Or those unicorns, for Merlin's sake. No, this snake, this enchanting, grand, snake, was, by far, the most amazing creature he had ever witnessed.

Tom looked around, after watching the snake's movements for a while. Darkness had floated onto the pale grey sky, leaving the only visible light to be the gleaming Muggle ones from the buildings all around. Everywhere, in the spirit of Christmas, people were singing, eating, decorating and more. But hidden beneath the willow tree's shadow, Tom did not care. For him, darkness was when he shon the most.

During a couple of weeks of visiting the mysterious snake, Tom made a distinct decision. He was going to join Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry, finally on his birthday. The day he turned eleven, it was the 31st of December. He was told to he was allowed a pet, an owl, frog, or cat. Not wanting either of these filthy Muggle animals, he decided to take the snake. For some eerie reason, the snake never harmed him, though its large body. In fact, Tom had come to believe that the snake liked his company. So, on the day of going to Hogwarts, he stayed in the shadows, his unusual pet, the snake, in its large cage. No one noticed him or the snake. He easily blended in the dark.

Tom hadn't decided on a name for the snake. He felt that the correct name would come to him if he waited. Because you could only choose a name once; it stuck with you for the rest of your life. And Tom Riddle was not going to make the same mistake as his mother did, naming him after the man who betrayed her. For now he stuck with the fact that he had an unusual pet. Among the feathers, tongues and tails of the other students' pets, there was one dark haired boy with a bright emerald snake, hissing behind the bars of the cage...


	2. Chapter 2: Snake Or Not Snake?

**_*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER AND ANY OF ITS SPELLS, CHARACTERS, ET CETERA.*_**

 **Chapter 2: Snake... Or Not Snake?**

It had been three days since Tom Riddle had been in Hogwarts. He had to admit, it was a fine school, though many things bugged him. Like how Professor Dumbledore seemed like Muggles, and how mudbloods were freely allowed the same opportunities as any pure-bloods. But even so, he couln't have happier to be sorted into Slytherin. Though he did not know much, he knew that Slytherin was the house of ambition and skill, and fit for the cunning and the bold. Tom had beamed with pride when the odd, ratty old hat had announced he was in Slytherin.

In the short of amount of time he had been in Hogwarts, Tom had managed to befriend a couple of people, of course though, those in Slytherin. There was Lestrange and Avery. They seemed like the perfect side-kicks he needed. They too despised Muggles and mudbloods, and shared the same views. Tom Riddle finally had a gang of people who understood him, unlike that filthy old building filled with stupid orphans. Lestrange and Avery were fascinated by Tom's snake, and thought he was quite brave for bringing such a ginormous reptile to school. Though he was surrounded by, what he called, followers, and what they thought, friends, Tom remained his mysterious, dark self.

One afternoon, after Potions, Tom was in the common room, stroking his, now beloved, snake, which he had let out of the cage. Lestrange and Avery weren't present, and they were too busy recking havoc in the other dormitories. Tom never found any fun in playing pranks; he felt he was above that juvenile nonsense.

As Tom was carefully examining the runes and markings on the snake, he noticed something quite peculiar. The snake was blinking. After living in the Muggle realm for eleven years, he had learnt that snakes aren't meant to blink. In fact. They do not have eye lids. So why, why was this particular snake _blinking_? Pushing this though out of his mind, he placed his pet back in the cage, and then set out to find his followers, his gang.

On the way, he got lost. Not surprising though, he thought, since the school was massive. He noticed that he, in fact, had reached the library. He hadn't visited the library yet, and considering it was their free period, their break, he decided to do some research, some extra exploring. He was browsing through the immense book collection for what seemed like days to him; it wasn't until he reached the 'Restricted Section' sign, when things started getting interesting, and Tom as well, started to actually find himself engrossed.

The restricted section was a very shadowy, ratty kind of place. Most of the books were very thick and heavy with volume, but were very old, tatty and were almost crumbling. Tom ran his hand along the ridges and spines of the books, scanning for something interesting. He had never seen anyone enter restricted section. People rumored that it was only for sixth and seventh years, who were studying the dark arts in particular. But this kind of genre interested him.

Tom was so busy reading each and every title of each and every book, he didn't even notice the commotion he was causing. He was awoken from his trance when the gruff voice of the librarian called him.

"And what do you think _you're_ doing, young man?" Tom jolted his head in the direction of the voice, and there standing was none other than the, very angry looking, librarian, as well a large group of sixth, fifth, a couple of third, and a few first years crowded behind him. Tom quickly shoved the brittle book he had been studying back in the slot he had found it, and turned his full body attention to his audience. He caught a few words of what they seemed to be whispering:

"It's that odd boy..." said a short little girl in Ravenclaw.

"Yeah, I heard he quite a mystery," replied her friend.

"What do you think he's doing?" a Hufflepuff sixth year whispered.

"I think he was just lost," murmured a pudgy boy in return.

Tom ignored these comments, and decided on answering the librarian. But before he could, he was interrupted.

"This is the restricted section, and I will have you knowing that it is strictly off-limits for first years like yourself!" spat the old librarian. He was clearly very distrubed at the idea of a first year rummaging through the dark arts sector, especially a Slytherin. Tom opened his mouth to retort, but then thought better of it, and shut it. Instead, he gave a quite startling smirk, a forced smile, and with a clear, concise voice, he replied, "Of course."

And with that, he left the mysterious restricted section, shoving past those who had watched his little scene.

Later that night, Tom found it very difficult to fall asleep. He was shuffling and rolling and turning under his green covers, trying to fall asleep. Eventually he decided to go to the common room. He quite liked it; it was a very soothing room. There were large, comfortable couches, a fireplace, and majestic green artefacts places around the room. After staring blankly at the jade coloured curtains for a while, he decided to go a pet his snake. It was almost one a.m. by the time he took his snake out of the cage.

"What should I name you?" Tom whispered, stroking the smooth, scaly skin. He still hadn't come up with a name, but he thought that it was time he named his snake. It couldn't be nameless any longer. That would be stupid. He continued stroking, when he remembered something. A book, a book he had found, which had originally belonged to his filthy Muggle grandfather, Marvolo. The book was about very old Greek mythology. Not sure what else to name his snake, he decided to drag that volume out his trunk and read it. Surely there had to be something, some sort of name that symbolised his beloved pet the most.

When he came back with the book though, his snake, the beautiful, large, shimmering emerald snake was no where to be seen. Tom dropped his book on the ground, making a loud _thud,_ and then went ahead, searching every corner of the common room. It couldn't have slithered out, you needed a password. It couldn't have gone far, it was huge, and, sadly, not that fast. And couldn't blend that easily... could it? Tom grew growingly worried by the minute, lifting pillows, crawling and checking under couches. He was in one dark corner, in a small walk-in robe where they kept extra uniforms, when he was crawling on hands and knees, and looked up. He saw something that both stunned him and scared him to death.

When his eyes came to level with what was standing in front of him, he was absolutely petrified. Because, what was standing there was not a snake, nor was it someone from the dorms. No, it was a girl. Tom would have screamed, in fact, he was screaming on the inside. But on the outside, he was calmly taking it all in. The girl looked about his age. She was slightly shorted than him, and had a slim, pale body. Her face had the most enchanting features. She had big, bright green eyes that seemed to glow in the dark. Her hair was jet black, and flowed down just past her shoulders. She had an odd scar gashing through her left brow. But what most stunned him was her beauty. Though her hair was a tangly mess, her clothes nothing more than simple rags, her feet bare, a little bit of dirt on her cheek, she was beautiful, and Tom hated himself for thinking so. The girl stared at him with her big eyes, and he just stared back. Both were equally confused.

Tom finally took a step. He cleared his through nervously, looked around to make sure no one was around, and then looked back the the ample girl. At first he was sure this was one of Lestrange and Avery's pranks. But now he wasn't so sure.

"H-Hello," Tom stammered, unsure. The girl showed no reaction. Seeing this, Tom continued.

"What are you doing in the boys' dormitories?" he asked her, politely as possible. As she looked like some homeless hag from the side of the road, he wasn't sure what to expect. The mysterious girl did not reply for a while. Thinking that maybe she was a prank, Tom turned to go back to bed. This is stupid, he thought. But just as he turned his back, he heard a soft, husky voice.

"Nagini," it said. Tom turned his head back to the girl. "My name is Nagini. Nagini Nigrum." She was only whispering, but Tom strained to hear he exotic, raspy voice. Knowing her name, though, did not make him any less confused. Though Nagini seemed to understand.

"I am your snake. My animagus." She said this in such a-matter-of-fact way, as if Tom was supposed to know what she meant.

Just then, Tom heard a noise coming from the dorm.

"Riddle? Who are you speaking to?" He heard Avery's tired voice ring through the door. Tom turned his attention back to the gi- _Nagini._ He thought this was quite a peculiar name, definitely from another language.

He turned it time to see Nagini shape-shifting. He had never seen anything more spectacular. It was beyond spectacular, quite frankly. Nagini suddenly started shading into deep green, scales forming on her pale, smooth skin. Her complexion changed form into more, er, reptile like. Her hair grew shorter and shorter, until it was completely gone, and her arms and legs all stuck together until she was, well, a standing snake. Then, just as Avery entered the common room, Nagini landed with a _thwack_ on the ground. All Tom managed was a stutter in reply to what Avery said next.

"Riddle?! Are you talking to your _snake_?"

"Er... Yes. Well, no. I was discussing her point of view. Yes, for her name."

"Ah, so she's a female, is that right? And how did you find this out?" Avery was more than suspicious now. Tom looked nervously at Nagini. Though everything else had changed, the same striking eyes of the girl he had just met was the same. She blinked in response, hissing, her tongue licking the awkward air.

"Well, you see, I was reading, and well, I found out that this kind, of, well, _snake_ complexion was feminine." Tom smirked at Avery, in hope that he believed him. The last thing he wanted was losing his reputation for talking to some random snake-girl, or a snake, or nothing for that matter.

"Oh, I _do_ see," Avery replied, very much awake now. "And what might be her chosen name, may I ask?" Tom smiled mischieviously at Nagini, and then at Avery.

"Nagini." Tom said, quite confidently. Avery gave him a funny look, and then turned to face the slithering snake.

"Well then. We should probably get some sleep now. Er, why don't you put your sn- I mean, _Nagini_ in her cage now?" And with that, Avery turned on his heel and strode out the door to the dorms.

Tom had just finished locking up the snake cage, when he looked back to examine his, odd, very odd, pet.

"I don't know who or what you are. And I don't know what you said," he murmured, arms crossed. "But you are very intriguing indeed. I have a feeling Hogwarts will be a lot more interesting now..." Tom subtly smiled at Nagini, and walked out the door, leaving the girl trapped in the snake blinking in return.


	3. Chapter 3: Knowing Nagini

**_*DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF ITS SPELLS, CHARACTERS, ET CETERA (YOU KNOW THE DRILL)*_**

 **Chapter 3: Knowing Nagini**

Tom Riddle had a very restless night, after what he had witnessed. It wasn't everyday your snake turns into a girl. Even so, he wasn't exactly sure it was real. Probably another stupid dream, he thought. The next morning, he woke up as normal, dressed, and then went off to breakfast. As he passed the common room, he saw that his snake, Nagini, was staring at him, as if she was frozen. Unnerved though, he continued to walk towards the great hall.

After a heartly meal of eggs and toast for breakfast, Tom set out to his first class - charms. He didn't particularly enjoy this class. It was quite boring, learning those basic spells. When Tom was alone at his orphanage just a couple of weeks ago, he had noticed that he was capable of doing strange things, things much more advance than what he was learning. For example, one evening, Russel Quimbly, a rough, blonde boy in his orphanage, started imitating and making fun of Tom and his personality. Tom, at first, ignored that juvenile immaturity, until it got too much. Tom suddenly clenched his sweaty palms, beads forming on his forehead. Russel and his friends heard the sound of thunder outside, and they stopped laughing as much. Then, Russel was suddenly struck by lightening. He was in the hospital for weeks, because the electricity had done damage. None of the Muggles knew what exactly happened though. But Tom did. From then on, he realised that he could make bad things happen to bad people, in his perspective. Charms, what rubbish. He was well above that.

That day they had yet another free period. Tom decided to go to the library again, but this time, _not_ in the restricted section. He figured it wasn't worth losing his reputation. Yet again, Lestrange and Avery went off to go wreck some more havoc, while Tom silently slipped into the serene library.

He wasn't sure what he was looking for. He just knew he hadn't found it yet. Tom traced each spine and read their titles out loud, trying to find one particular word. He didn't know what it was, though, but he hoped that, if he found the book, it would spark his memory. Tom felt like he would never cross a book, and began to give up, when he saw the work that caught his eye: _Animagus._ He pulled out the thick textbook from its place on the shelf, and layed in on the desk. There was a good layer of dust on it, which he blew and dusted off. Then he sat down and began to read.

 _'An Animagus is a witch or wizard with the rare ability to transform into a particular animal at will. The Animagus spell is very difficult and dangerous to perform, which is one reason that all Animagi are required to be registered by the Ministry of Magic. Another reason is so the Ministry can ensure that an Animagus does not use his or her power for any illegal purpose while in their animal forms.'_

Tom stared at the yellow page, trying to take it all in. The girl he met last night, supposedly his snake, was an Animagus. He had seen it with his own eyes. But one thing bugged young Tom's mind. If you had to be in the Ministry to be an Animagi, then how was she one? He decided to use his free period to find out just that. Tom slammed the book shut and shoved it back in the slot. He took off and ran down to the Slytherin common room, not noticing the startled stares from the people around him. They had get used to it, he had thought by now.

Tom was alone in the common room. Everyone else was outside, or in the library, on in the halls. He sat down next to the cage, and freed Nagini.

"Erm, excuse me?" He checked to see if no one was watching him, because, yes, again he was talking to a mere reptile.

"Excuse me, but can you please turn, er, human? I have a few questions," he whispered, still wary of his surroundings. Once again, no reply but a small _hiss_. Tom looked around restlessly, trying to figure out how to turn his snake human again.

"Nagini?" He tried once more, in hope that her name might trigger something. No response. Defeated, he turned away, examining his books and his wand, to try and find a spell that might just do what he wanted. Then suddenly, he heard an abrupt _hiss._ No, not the normal ones. This one was different. It was a sharp noise, as if someone what letting go of a balloon. Tom snapped back to his snake. Which, well, was no longer in snake form.

He watched in astonishment, how his scaly pet turned into a mesmerising girl. He had seen it in reverse, but this seemed much more amazing. The scales slowly turned smooth, the colour draining from the skin. The body of the snake stood up, just like last night, and then morphed into a more human complexion. Hair, black, shiny, hair sprouted from the scalp. And before you could say _Merlin's tail_ Nagini was a girl again. Boy, he was never going to get used to that.

"What would you like to know?" Nagini said, her voice still having that element of rasp, like a snake's hiss. Tom quit staring, and got back to his original thoughts.

"Well, I was just wondering, how exactly did you become an Animagus?" Tom queried, trying to ignore the intensity of Nagini's eyes. Nagini seemed quiet for a moment, and Tom began to wonder that maybe he had asked too much. Then, suddenly, she walked over to the couch and sat down.

"My father was an Animagus. His was a serpent as well, except it was a horned one. Horned serpents are extremely rare Animagi, and are forbidden because they have extra powers that can threaten the world, both Muggle and wizarding. The ministry found out that my father was illegally using his Animagi and sentenced him to eternal imprisonment in Azkaban. Just before he was arrested, he decided to teach me how to form my own Animagus. Since my mother..." Nagini trailed off, looking into the distance. Tom beckoned her to continue.

"My mother was a very talented witch. She herself went to Hogwarts. But one night, Gellert Grindelwald - you must know all about him - killed her for disobeying and refusing his orders. He wanted her as part of his army, as she knew secrets that no one knew." Nagini went very quiet, fiddling with her dirty skirt. Tom, however, was oblivious of the emotion, and was still curious about the Animagus.

"But the how did you become an Animagus?" Nagini smiled.

"My father, before he was sent to Azkaban, taught me how to become an Animagus, a very extensive and complicated spell, as he knew that I would not be able to live on my own. I was only seven years old. The day he was taken, I changed into my least favourite clothing, and turned my animagus: a pit viper, or as you may see it, an emerald snake." Nagini softly chuckled to herself. "Unfortunately I wasn't able to disguise every human characteristic; hence, the blinking." She gestured towards her eyes. "But once I was a snake, I set off to find a place where I was welcome as a pet. I was originally going to stay as an Animagus until I found a spell that would permanently turn me into a snake, because, well, I was doing something illegal. If the ministry ever found out..." Yet again Nagini trailed off in thought. While Tom, finally, began to understand.

" Why didn't you do so?" he asked. Nagini looked at Tom's silver-green eyes and smiled shyly.

"Because," she whispered. "Because I met you." Nagini started to comb through her tangled mass with he fingers. Suddenly, Lestrange began swaggering in, completely indifferent to what was going on in there. Startled, Tom shoved Nagini into the dark storage room roughly, just as Lestrange came into sight.

"What're you doing, Riddle?" Lestrange sneered. "Talking to your pet again, are you?" Tom frowned and looked directly into Lestrange's eyes. They locked, and suddenly Lestrange's mocking face melted, and was replaced by a mask of fear. Tom narrowed his eyes, suddenly protective of Nagini.

"Never," he said, his voice sharp. "Never say that again." And with that, Tom walked out of the common room, not caring about the frightened look on Lestrange's face.

Tom was now regularly meeting with Nagini, getting to know her story, but no one else ever knew. He had never found any other being so fascinating in his life, and he began to think Nagini as more of friend than anything.

Tom Riddle and Nagini Nigrum, having secrets of their own.


End file.
